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In this December 2017 photo provided by Beth Regan, Regan speaks to Robert Graham in Cortland, N.Y.

A decorated World War II veteran who died this month with no living relatives is being honored by strangers around the world thanks to an unlikely friendship with a young woman determined to give him a hero's farewell.

Bob Graham earned Bronze and Silver stars for his service in the Pacific, where he fought at Guadalcanal and Bougainville as a member of the elite Marine Raiders.

Following the war he returned to New York state where he worked as a corrections officer. He died April 12 at age 97, two years after the passing of Rosie, his wife of more than 60 years.

With no close relatives left and most of his fellow Marines and former co-workers long gone, Graham's death would likely have gone unnoticed if not for Beth Regan, 27, who befriended Graham while volunteering at his nursing home. Fearing that his funeral might be sparsely attended, she turned to the internet to get the message out.

It fell on eager ears, and when Graham is laid to rest on Friday it's expected to be standing-room only. Condolences have poured in from around the nation and world.

Local firefighters will line the streets and hoist a giant American flag for the funeral procession in Westchester County. Members of the Patriot Guard Riders plan to create a line of flags at Graham's internment at a cemetery in the Bronx.

On Wednesday, CNN's Jake Tapper tweeted out information about his services."I just wanted to make sure people would attend," said Regan.

"He never wanted to talk about his time in the war because he thought he was bragging," she said. "'Why are you doing this,' he'd say. 'I'm not a big deal.'"

Regan recently moved to North Carolina for work but will be back in New York for Graham's service. And when they present the folded American flag customarily given to the loved ones of decorated veterans, it will be presented to her.

"He would call me his angel," Regan said of her friend. "It was just a very special connection."